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Sounder trains typically operate during
peak periods, with trains to Seattle in the morning and to outlying areas in the afternoon. Limited midday service is offered on the S Line and special weekend trips are run on both lines for sporting events and other occasions. In 2019, Sounder carried over 4.6 million passengers, averaging under 18,000 on weekdays, making it the 12th busiest commuter rail system in the United States.[citation needed]
The commuter rail system was preceded by mainline passenger railroad service that began in the late 19th century, including two
interurban railways to Everett and Tacoma that operated until the 1920s. After a decade of planning, Sounder commuter rail service was approved by voters in a 1996 ballot measure and construction on its stations began in 1998. The South Line (now the S Line) entered service on September 18, 2000, and was followed by the North Line (now the N Line) on December 26, 2003. The South Line was extended from Tacoma to Lakewood in October 2012 and is planned to be extended further to
DuPont by 2045.
Lines
The Sounder commuter rail system runs on 83 miles (134 km) and is split into two lines that serve twelve total stations.[3][4]King Street Station in
Downtown Seattle serves as the system's central hub and marks the terminus of both lines. The N Line serves three stations and terminates in
Everett; the S Line serves eight stations and terminates in
Lakewood, with some trips ending in
Tacoma.[4]
Train service is primarily operated during weekday
rush hours, with trips inbound to Seattle during the morning and outbound to the suburbs in the afternoon. Other services, including
reverse commute and mid-day trips are offered on the S Line, while both lines have occasional weekend service for special events.[5][6] Most of the Sounder system uses tracks owned by
BNSF Railway, which is also contracted to operate the trains.
Amtrak provides fleet maintenance and storage of trains at their Seattle facility.[4][7] The Lakewood–Tacoma segment of the S Line uses tracks that are owned by Sound Transit.[8][9]
Former mudslide issues (mitigation project in 2015)[10]
Travel times from Seattle: Edmonds 27, Mukilteo 42, Everett 53[11]
S Line
The 48-mile (77 km) S Line follows the BNSF
Seattle Subdivision from Seattle to Tacoma and the
Lakewood Subdivision (owned by Sound Transit) from Tacoma to Lakewood.[7][12] Trains on the South Line begin at King Street Station and make eight stops in southern King County and Pierce County before terminating at
Lakewood station. Most of the line follows the Green River Valley and the
State Route 167 corridor, stopping in
Tukwila,
Kent,
Auburn,
Sumner, and
Puyallup before reaching
Tacoma Dome Station, the main transit hub for Pierce County. Some trips on the South Line continue southwest to serve two additional stops at
South Tacoma station and Lakewood station.
The S Line is the busiest Sounder corridor, with 16,416 weekday boardings in 2018, and has 13 weekday round trips. It generally has longer trainsets than the N Line.
The first railroads to serve the
Puget Sound region were planned in the early 1870s, putting rival towns in competition for the terminal of national railroads.
Background
Railroad development in 1880s, including Shore Line (Seattle to Tacoma)[18]
GN to Everett built in 1891
Interurbans until 1929
1950s proposal
1987 Metro study
1993 Regional plan, formation of RTA
Planning
1995: "Try Rail" campaign using leased GO Transit bi-level trains from January to March, serving Everett, Edmonds, Seattle, Kent and Tacoma[19][20]
1995: RTA proposes commuter rail service from Everett to Lakewood, scheduled to launch in 1997 or 1998, pending a vote (that would later fail) on March 14, 1995[21]
Provisional stations on Sounder North: Richmond Beach, Ballard, and Interbay
Additional stations in Seattle: Interbay, Pike Place Market, Georgetown, and Boeing Access Road
Bond Street Station (Everett) served alongside new Everett Station
1996-05-31: Sound Move adopted by ST Board, including commuter rail from Everett to Lakewood via Seattle[22]
Provisional stations at Richmond Beach, Ballard, and Georgetown; Boeing Access Road as a rail transfer hub (to light rail); Bond Street Station kept
1997-08-15: RTA board adopts "Sounder" as name for commuter rail service[23]
1999-02-11: ST Board approves work on Everett Multi-modal Facility for Sounder commuter rail and ST Express bus service, using $14.385 million designated by 1996 Sound Move initiative[25]
1999-11-02:
Initiative 695 causes car-tab tax cuts that postpone Sounder commuter service to Everett and Edmonds[26]
2001-06-14: Bond Street Station (Everett) removed from Sounder North plans[28]
"Difficulties associated with the Bond Street site included parking constraints,marginal transit access, and traffic impacts to local streets. Patrons who would have used the Bond Street site will be well served by the Everett Station site. The City of Everett has chosen to focus its attention on the Everett Station facility, in an effort to provide one centralized multi-modal facility. Savings from this project could potentially be used for other commuter rail projects in Everett."[29]
2002-02-04: Everett Station opens, without rail service[30]
2002-09-25: Everett City Council approves $726,000 to construct Sounder platform and rail spur at Everett Station, with reimbursement from Sound Transit via Amtrak[31]
2003-05-28: 97-year lease signed by ST and BNSF, enabling Sounder commuter service on the North Line for $224 million; 1 train at debut, stopping at Edmonds, with 4 daily trains planned after track improvements[32]
Service history
2000-02-29: "Leap Year" train runs from Seattle to Tacoma as part of media preview[33]
2000-09-18: South Line begins service, from Tacoma, Sumner, and Auburn to Seattle[34]
Delayed nine months due to funding issues (including state's I-695) and BNSF negotations; third round-trip scrapped due to temporary Lakewood station[35]
^Progress Report: Sounder Program(PDF) (Report). Sound Transit. September 2013. p. 93. Archived from
the original(PDF) on September 3, 2014. {{
cite report}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; September 21, 2015 suggested (
help)
^
abc"Sounder commuter rail"(PDF). Sound Transit. 2014 – via Washington State Department of Transportation.
1995: "Try Rail" campaign using leased GO Transit bi-level trains from January to March, serving Everett, Edmonds, Seattle, Kent and Tacoma[1]
1995: RTA proposes commuter rail service from Everett to Lakewood, scheduled to launch in 1997 or 1998, pending a vote (that would later fail) on March 14, 1995[2]
Provisional stations on Sounder North: Richmond Beach, Ballard, and Interbay
Additional stations in Seattle: Interbay, Pike Place Market, Georgetown, and Boeing Access Road
Bond Street Station (Everett) served alongside new Everett Station
1996-05-31: Sound Move adopted by ST Board, including commuter rail from Everett to Lakewood via Seattle[3]
Provisional stations at Richmond Beach, Ballard; Bond Street Station kept
1997-08-15: RTA board adopts "Sounder" as name for commuter rail service[4]
1998: EPA concerns about intertidal zones forces delay?
1999-02-11: ST Board approves work on Everett Multi-modal Facility for Sounder commuter rail and ST Express bus service, using $14.385 million designated by 1996 Sound Move initiative[5]
1999-11-02:
Initiative 695 causes car-tab tax cuts that postpone Sounder commuter service to Everett and Edmonds[6]
2001-06-14: Bond Street Station (Everett) removed from Sounder North plans[8]
"Difficulties associated with the Bond Street site included parking constraints, marginal transit access, and traffic impacts to local streets. Patrons who would have used the Bond Street site will be well served by the Everett Station site. The City of Everett has chosen to focus its attention on the Everett Station facility, in an effort to provide one centralized multi-modal facility. Savings from this project could potentially be used for other commuter rail projects in Everett."[9]
2002-02-04: Everett Station opens, without rail service[10]
2003-05-28: 97-year lease signed by ST and BNSF, enabling Sounder commuter service on the North Line for $224 million; 1 train at debut, stopping at Edmonds, with 4 daily trains planned after track improvements[11]
Service history
2003-12-26: North Line begins service, from Everett and Edmonds to Seattle[12][13]
2008-05-30: Mukilteo Station opens on North Line[14][15]
Proposed extension
1999: Arlington, Marysville and Tulalip Tribes propose joining Sound Transit RTA district for Sounder North service on existing BNSF tracks[16]
^Goffredo, Theresa (February 5, 2002).
"Everett's got a ticket to ride". The Everett Herald. The Washington Post Company. p. A1.
ProQuest333518467 – via ProQuest. {{
cite news}}: Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (
help)
^Dorpat, Paul; McCovy, Genevieve (1998). Building Washington: A History of Washington State Public Works. Seattle: Tartu Publications. p. 153.
ISBN0-9614357-9-8.
OCLC40406154.
Union Station is an
office building and historic
train station in
Seattle, Washington, United States. It serves as the headquarters of
Sound Transit, the region's transit authority, and is adjacent to a complex of modern office buildings.
Originally named the Oregon and Washington Station, the station was built between 1910 and 1911 for
joint use by the
Union Pacific Railroad and
Milwaukee Road. A similar union station,
King Street Station, was built across 4th Avenue for the
Great Northern Railway and
Northern Pacific Railway in 1906. The railroad station, later renamed to Union Station, was designed by
Daniel J. Patterson in the
Beaux Arts style and featured many classical ornaments. Milwaukee Road ceased passenger service to Seattle in 1961, and was followed by Union Pacific in 1971; King Street remains the city's only intercity passenger train station, served by
Amtrak and
Sounder commuter rail.
Union Station sat unused for several decades while various developers attempted to make use of the station and its land. An
underground bus station was built adjacent to the station in 1990, along with a concrete lid designed for future development. A complex of office buildings was opened on the former site of the station's tracks and platforms in 2000. The station itself was renovated in 1999 to serve as Sound Transit's headquarters.
Design
Dimensions: 150 feet by 220 feet
Structural steel with concrete walls (early use)[1]
Former platforms below, connected by ramps and stairs
History
The first major railroad terminal in Seattle was
King Street Station, opened in 1906 for the
Great Northern Railway and
Northern Pacific Railway at the end of the
Great Northern Tunnel. The railroads, owned by magnate
James J. Hill, had been competing for control of the Pacific Northwest market with the
Union Pacific Railroad and
Oregon–Washington Railroad, both owned by
Edward H. Harriman. Union Pacific had begun planning a Seattle terminal of their own at the same time, and the city government awarded them the right to build a terminal on March 6, 1908.[3][4] The Union Pacific terminal would be built across 4th Avenue from King Street Station at the site of a
coal gasification plant along Jackson Street, which had been regraded to produce level ground for the below-grade railyard.
NBBJ report on Transportation Center, for Metro (1973)
Books on American railroad stations: Edwin P. Alexander (1970), John Albert Droege (1916), H. Roger Grant (1993), Thomas E. Jessett (1972), Janet Greenstein Potter (1996), Jack W. Seto (1978)
First gas plant at site of Jackson & 4th (prior to regrade)
circa 1901: Popular swimming hole (filled by high tide)[5]
1906: Jackson regrade, King Street Station
1907: Tour by UP magnate
E. H. Harriman to scout a possible Seattle terminus[3]: 20
1908-03-06: City of Seattle grants franchise and terminal rights to Oregon-Washington Railway and UP
Agreement includes widening of nearby streets (on pillars)
Planned to be completed before World's Fair (June 1909)[3]: 21
1986: Mayor Royer proposes renovation into new city hall with new office complex,[11] lost out to report recommending rebuilding city hall at current site (opened in 2003)[12]
1990: International District bus tunnel station opens
King Street Station is located at the intersection of South Jackson Street and 3rd Avenue South, at the southeast corner of the
Pioneer Square neighborhood in
Downtown Seattle. The station is recessed below street level, with entrances at South Jackson Street and at South King Street. Commuter rail passengers use a separate set of entrances along South Weller Street and the north side of South Jackson Street.
The station building stands three stories tall, with a 242-foot (74 m)
clocktower, and is primarily of brick masonry and
terra cotta construction with stone elements.[1] It was designed by
Reed and Stem in the "Railroad Italiane" style,[2] in contrast to their later Classical work as co-architects of New York City's
Grand Central Terminal,[citation needed] and the clocktower was based on the
St Mark's Campanile bell tower in
Venice.
Earlier railroad stations: 1880 at Columbia Street & Railroad Ave by SLS&E (later for GN),[6] 1890 by NPRR, calls for a grander station to spur economic development (and win rivalry with Tacoma)[7]
It was built in the late 19th century by the
Great Northern Railway and its subsidiaries, forming one of two north–south railroads between Seattle and
Portland, Oregon. The final segment, between
Kalama and Vancouver, was completed in 1908. Great Northern was merged into the
Burlington Northern Railroad in 1970, alongside Great Northern and three other major railroads.
The station was opened in September 2004, replacing an earlier facility on
College Way near
Burlington that opened in 1968. The downtown station was sited near an earlier passenger and freight depot constructed by the
Great Northern Railway in 1891.
Mount Vernon was founded in 1877 and its first railroad was built in August 1891 as part of the
Seattle and Northern Railroad, later acquired by the
Great Northern Railway.[5][6] The city's first railroad depot was located at the intersection of Kincaid Street and 3rd Street, west of the current station, and was used for over a half-century.
Older stations and service
1891: GN's first depot?
November 27, 1891: GN excursion train with Seattle Chamber stops in Mount Vernon for celebration of line's opening[7]
Regular service began on December 7
Sandborn map places it at Kincaid & 3rd, on west side of tracks near GN Hotel[8]
1967: New depot announced to replace dilapidated Mount Vernon and Burlington downtown depots; 1,500 sq ft waiting room, 90-by-30 foot structure, similar to Quincy depot, large parking lot; contract cost of $91,714[10]
The station was built by the
Northern Pacific Railway and opened in 1891. The station underwent extensive renovations from 1993 to 1994 and was reopened as an intermodal terminal on December 12, 1994.
Description
Brick exterior
Raised bus ramp
Train viaduct through downtown
Island platform for trains with underground concourse
Nearby: Convention center, First Interstate Center for Arts, Riverfront Park (GN depot clocktower, rest of station razed in 1973)[1]
^Dorpat, Paul; McCovy, Genevieve (1998). Building Washington: A History of Washington State Public Works. Seattle: Tartu Publications. pp. 155–156.
ISBN0-9614357-9-8.
OCLC40406154.
1997-11-04: Initiative 41 passed by Seattle voters, creating the Elevated Transportation Corporation (ETC) to develop and build a 54-mile-long (87 km) system with two lines[3]